Sweater Weather
by I-write-hurt-not-comfort
Summary: Modern coffee shop AU. Leo always hated working on rainy, Autumn Sundays. Unless he happened to be joined by a flustered student called Elliot on his birthday, that was / birthday fic for Leo :3 / contains Elleo fluff!


**_(A/Ns:_** _ **staying up till 1am with a billion scented candles was definitely worth it. the fluff is unimaginable. i'd like to thank lelachen for the idea. overall though im happy with how things turned out and i'm glad to have proven i can write stuff that doesn't include drugs/smoking/alcohol for once.**_  
 _ **contains minor swearing but that's all.**_  
 _ **happy birthday leo!** **e** **njoy!)**_

* * *

 _One love, two mouths  
One love, one house_

…

Leo had never liked working on Sundays.

To begin with, the store was dead. What did his manager expect? No one was even out in town on Sunday, let alone at 10pm at night, which was when this godforsaken coffee shop was supposed to close.

People _especially_ weren't out in town on rainy days in Autumn, when the temperature dropped below 5 degrees, and the evening breeze would kick up such a stir that you couldn't leave your house without getting smacked around the face by flying leaves.

The sun had set several hours ago now. Time had gone excruciatingly slow for Leo; he'd been alone in the shop all day. And at this point, he was truly thankful that the shop was closing in just under half an hour. Because, for some reason, whenever it rained, he would grow incredibly sleepy, and now, even reading was not enough to keep his head from nodding against the counter, or his eyes from lulling shut.

Rain repeatedly tapped against the windows in a steady rhythm, pulling Leo into a hypnotic state, in which he seemed to be continuously drifting above and below the surface of consciousness. No, he had to stay awake. All he had to push through was another half an hour, before he could finally go home, cocoon himself in countless blankets, and finally sleep where he was _supposed_ to sleep. Perhaps then he'd be well-rested for his first lecture of the week, tomorrow morning.

Just then, as he peeled his face from the counter, something caught his eye from outside.

Directly out the shop on the sidewalk, there was someone in a seemingly futile war with their umbrella. Well, a war with their umbrella and the wind, both of which seemed to be going against them.

To be slightly more specific, this 'someone' was male (he assumed), most likely no older than 19, and had ash-blonde hair, which was ruffled and dishevelled by the wind. The expression of frustration on his face made Leo chuckle; if he didn't want to seem like he was crushing on this random stranger, he'd say it was cute.

The moment that one thought crossed his mind, however, Leo physically felt his face warm up, and his promptly forbade himself from thinking of such things.

But before he could properly erase the thought, the door burst open, said stranger stumbling through the doors. Panting, there was a solid minute before he was able to regain his composure.

Leo spent that minute staring at him, a tad judgementally but primarily teasingly.

"What're you looking at?" he scoffed, crossing gazes with Leo. "Oi!"

"Nothing in particular," Leo chimed, swinging one leg over the other and leaning an elbow on the counter. "We're closing soon."

"I-I know!" he stammered, his face growing red. It was unclear whether he was blushing, or simply getting very defensive. Probably both. "I-I'm not here to _buy_ anything, I just… my cab didn't turn up, alright? And this stupid umbrella is broken!"

A sly, deviant grin tugged at Leo's lips. "Whilst I appreciate you sharing that with me, I don't recall ever asking why you came in here."

The blush on the stranger's face deepened. Yep: embarrassment. Frantically, he shoved the umbrella in his bag, folded his arms over his chest, and flitted his focus to the floor. "Tch, I just…"

"Felt the need to justify yourself? Interesting." Leo mockingly tapped a finger to his lips. "How flattered I am that you trusted _me_ – a total stranger – enough to confide in."

"Stop making fun of me!"

"Alright, alright. I'll let you stay, though. I have no way of getting home until the rain stops, either."

"Tch, fine…" he grunted, but appeared to calm down a little at the suggestion. "I-I'm Elliot, by the way."

"Nice to meet you, Elliot," The noirette smiled, raking a hand through his hair before hopping off the counter stall and making his way to the coffee machine. "You can call me Leo."

There was an obvious draft in there; one which sent a shudder down his spine. Nevertheless, he would stay there. This _stranger_ – who was now known to be Elliot – was intriguing. Thus, intentionally, he set out two coffee cups, and began brewing the beans.

After half a minute of silence, Elliot spoke up. "This is, er, a nice place."

"I don't own it," Leo said, waiting for the machine to finish heating up, as he repetitively drummed his fingers against the counter-ledge. "It's just a part-time job. I'm a poor student, you know?"

"You're not getting my sympathy…" Elliot grumbled. For another few seconds, he inspected his surroundings, and then dropped down onto the sofa just adjacent from where Leo was. Exhaustedly, he dumped his bag on the floor, knocking his head backwards against the mountainous pile of cushions.

"Hm…" Leo pondered aloud, as he precisely poured the coffee into the two cups with such rigour that you could just _tell_ he did this a lot. "Let's see if I can guess what you're studying…"

Instantly, Elliot shot back up. "How the hell did you know _I_ was a student?"

"Simple. You're carrying around messenger bag – quite gay, I feel inclined to point out, so I'm guessing you're a homosexual as well – which is a uni-student classic. As well as that, you're holding your folder, despite having enough space in your bag, which suggests you've seen a little too much American reality TV. And finally, you wouldn't give me your sympathy because you're _also_ a student." The grin Leo flashed the other, as he set the two coffee cups down in front of them and curled up beside the other, was nothing short of smug. "Am I wrong?"

"Tch, no…" Elliot grunted. He blushed, evidently embarrassed again. "H-How did you know I was, um, gay?"

"I said, did I not?" Leo smirked, sipping innocently on the coffee, and suppressing a wince. The temperature outside may have been close to freezing, but burning his tongue didn't exactly help. "The oversized sweater doesn't help if you're trying to act straight, though."

Elliot scoffed, and held the coffee cup in the palms of his hands. "You're wearing an oversized sweater too, you know."

"I'm aware."

Silence interrupted their conversation for a brief moment, Leo holding back a snicker.

Until Elliot blinked. And got the hint. His eyes widened. "Oh. I see."

"Mhm."

"Yeah…" he stuttered, turning his head away from Leo once again. "So, er, what're you studying?"

"English Literature. Modern literature, to be specific," Leo answered. He blew on the coffee delicately, before attempting to drink it again, and visibly wincing this time. It was still too hot. "And you?"

"I thought you were guessing."

"Do you _want_ me to guess?"

"N-No! Well, I guess…"

Wordlessly, Leo spent a few seconds scanning the other up and down. "You don't seem like a Science student. Drama?"

"Close," Elliot said idly, eyes wandering the ceiling. "Music."

"Ah. I see. You play an instrument then?"

"Piano. Um, you?"

"Piano, as well," Leo sipped on the coffee. The caffeine did little to wake him up, but the conversation with Elliot was enough to keep him awake for now.

"Do you think the rain is going to stop?" Elliot questioned, seemingly to himself at first. Only when he turned his head back to him did Leo tune into the conversation. "Shit. I have to wait for a bus."

"Wait here a little longer," Leo grinned.

Elliot's mouth dropped open. It was like he wanted to say no, but he just couldn't.

"Here. It's cold."

Before Elliot could stop him, Leo picked up the hand-knitted blanket, previously folded over the back of the sofa, and threw it over them. Buried under the blanket, Leo took it as the perfect opportunity to shuffle closer to the other.

Beside him, Elliot cocked an eyebrow at Leo. But he didn't stop him. Instead, he simply placed the coffee cup back down on the coffee table, and then daren't move another muscle.

He also didn't protest when Leo's head gently lulled onto his shoulder. His hair splayed out onto the back of the sofa, fell down his chest, and tickled Elliot's neck.

But once again, he didn't even _attempt_ to stop him.

Tranquillity didn't even begin to describe the atmosphere between them.

Amplifying this was the innumerable scented candles spread out across the room, each lit and radiating their own scent, ranging from vanilla to lavender to chrysanthemums. The only sound which could be heard was the rain pattering against the windows. However, as opposed to its draining effects from earlier, the rain now brought a calming, therapeutic effect.

Elliot didn't notice as he began nodding off as well.

"Hey," Leo murmured briefly, followed by an audible yawn. Yet he didn't move. "Do you want to know something?"

"What?" Elliot grunted, but softly, rather than irascibly. He just wanted to sleep, so it appeared.

"It's my birthday today."

Blinking, Elliot was rather brusquely pulled from the tendrils of sleepiness. "What the hell? Why are you working on your _birthday_?"

"No reason," Leo shrugged, edging a little closer to the other. "I couldn't get the day off. I didn't mind though."

Peeling his head away from Elliot's shoulder, Leo only caught a glimpse of the confused yet sad, sympathetic expression which had morphed onto his face. And… the blushing?

"Hey, look at me," Leo whispered, biting back a grin.

Suspiciously, Elliot did so, slowly turning his head and-

The moment he'd rotated his head enough, Leo sat up, placed a hand on the side of his face, and swiftly placed his lips against Elliot's; all in one dutiful move. Elliot froze at first, but within two seconds, his eyes fell shut, and he melted into the embrace.

Skilfully, Leo slipped his tongue past Elliot's lips, exploring his mouth with such elegance that you'd think he was _experienced_ at this.

(- well, let's not go there.)

After at least twenty seconds, Leo finally pulled away, a single strand of saliva connecting their lips for a brief second. Elliot's face was a shade of red that Leo had truly never seen before, making him chuckle again.

"I thought I'd treat myself," he chimed, and then laid his head back onto Elliot's shoulder as if nothing had happened.

Elliot, still flushed, took another few seconds to reclaim his inner-serenity.

And then, once he did, he exhaled a long breath, like he'd been unconsciously holding it, and nestled his head into Leo's hair. The scent of his shampoo – a mixture of green tea and mint – sent him straight back to the state of drifting in and out of REM sleep.

Right before either of them passed out right there, though, too exhausted and cosy under the blanket to stay awake for any longer, Elliot felt compelled to mutter three last words:

"Happy birthday, Leo."

 _Fin._


End file.
